UK News

The moods of the two main parties’ general election campaigns do not tell us what will happen on 4 July. But as we pass the halfway stage in the long slog to polling day, they do give us a strong flavour of how candidates, strategists and officials think this election is going for them. And right now, the moods of ...

Conservative candidate Dame Andrea Jenkyns has defended her decision to feature a picture of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on an election leaflet. The picture of a grinning Mr Farage next to Dame Andrea was taken at the Reform UK leader’s 60th birthday party in April. It features on an A5 leaflet sent to voters in the Leeds South West ...

The Green Party has pledged to raise taxes on top earners in its manifesto, claiming the plans will generate £70bn a year to mend “broken Britain”. The plans include raising the National Insurance (NI) rate to 8% on annual wages above £50,270 – equivalent to an extra £283.74 per year in tax for someone earning £55,000. They will also introduce ...

Labour and the Conservatives have been challenged over how they would fund their election pledges, ahead of their manifestos being launched next week. The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned the next government would have to cut the scope of what the state provides or increase taxes to maintain levels of departmental spending. Both parties have said they will ...

King Charles paid a heartfelt tribute to those who had taken part in the D-Day landings, praising them for “replacing tyranny with freedom”. “We are eternally in their debt,” the King told an 80th anniversary commemoration. He was speaking in Portsmouth, one of the key departure points for the Normandy landings in June 1944. The King hailed the “courage, resilience ...

Barking council leader Darren Rodwell has been removed from the list of election candidates being approved today by Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC). An internal process into allegations concerning Mr Rodwell is under way, the BBC understands. The NEC will likely make a decision over who will be Labour’s candidate in the seat in the next 48 hours. Darren Rodwell ...

The number of visas available to migrants would be reduced each year under a new Conservative government, the prime minister has promised. For the first time, MPs would get a vote on annual government proposals aimed at regularly reducing numbers, which would be based on recommendations from the expert Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). Although no figures were suggested for a ...

Nigel Farage had a drink thrown over him after launching his personal election campaign in Clacton-on-Sea. The Reform UK leader was leaving a pub after carrying out media interviews when a woman – who only gave her name as Victoria to reporters – poured the drink over his suit jacket. The veteran politician was walking to the Reform UK party ...

John Swinney will urge people to “vote SNP to put Scotland’s interests first” as he formally launches the party’s general election campaign. Mr Swinney will tell activists and candidates at a rally in Glasgow later that Westminster decision-making has meant “austerity, Brexit and a cost of living crisis being imposed on Scotland”. Scotland’s first minister will stress his belief in ...

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to cut levels of net migration to the UK if his party wins the general election. The Labour leader said he would introduce new laws to train British workers to plug skills gaps in the job market and strengthen anti-exploitation laws. He did not put a timeframe or a target figure on his promise, but ...